Charlotte

Gripping, brutal, honest, and well-written. This book tore up a lot of my assumptions about the Columbine massacre and the killers themselves.

Loved the non-chronological structure in the latter half of the book, and the way the author interwove multiple stories together. Perfect balance of facts about the massacre, deep dive into the psychology of the killers, and stories of the survivors, victims, and families left behind.

Really interesting. Lovely, simple world-building. I have a soft spot in my heart for the main character.

Not much “happens” but the meandering chapters where Piranesi just records his day-to-day are so wholesome and charming that I don't mind the slow pace at all.

I do wish it came to more of a climax in the latter half.

I like Colleen Hoover's conversational, direct writing style - I could see everything play out so clearly in my mind. A few moments genuinely scared me.

The intimate scenes were a bit much.

Interesting premise. I liked how the majority of the plot actually took place in one setting - created a claustrophobic feeling that made the mist even more unnerving. I started losing interest once the “monsters” were revealed to literally just be like, big slugs and crabs lmao

Liked the colloquial voice of the narrator David. Really did feel like I was reading someone's journal

It was an easy read with some moments of beautiful prose. Some of the essays felt buoyed solely by the inherent intrigue of the subject matter (i.e. exposés on other celebs/industry folk)

I wish she had a stronger point of view. A lot of this book felt like a play-by-play retelling of things that happened or thoughts/questions she had - but with little resolution or attempt at such.

The last few essays were the strongest, in my opinion, because she communicates from a place of anger and justice that brings clarity to her writing. Earlier essays tend to meander.